Caroline Arnold's Books

Home My Books Behind the Story Activities School Visits / Teaching Awards About the Author Contact Me

About Caroline Arnold



Celebrating 100 Books

In 1997, with the publication of four new books, I celebrated my one hundredth book year. To commemorate this milestone I wrote an autobiography, in which I reflect on aspects of my life that have influenced my writing. This essay was published in the Something About the Author Autobiography Series, Vol. 23, pp. 25-43 (Gale, 1997)

Volume 228 of SATA (Something About the Author) Gale Publications, a reference book of children's book authors and illustrators, was published in July 2011. It includes a very thorough updated entry for me and my books, prepared by the SATA editors.

In 2022, with the publication of Planting a Garden in Room 6 I now have published 170 books.

Short Autobiography

I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with my parents, who were social workers, and my three younger brothers. Most of my summers were spent at Camp Bovey, a small camp in northern Wisconsin, and it was there that I began to develop my love for nature and the out of doors. My memoir, Settlement House Girl, is a collection of essays about my growing up years connected to North East Neighborhood House in Minneapolis and at Camp Bovey. I went to Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, where I majored in art and also studied English literature. I then went to the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, and received my M.A.in art.

I began writing books for children more than thirty years ago when my own children were small. Because I was trained as an artist, my plan was to write stories that I could illustrate myself, but as it turned out I have instead become primarily a writer. Many of my books are about natural science subjects and lend themselves to being illustrated with color photos. For the majority of these books I have collaborated with Richard Hewett, a professional photographer. With several of my other photographic books I have worked with my husband, Arthur Arnold and in a few books I have done my own photography. Most of my recent books are illustrated with art, both by other illustrators and myself. I use a cut paper collage technique.

I live in Los Angeles, California with my husband, Art, a scientist at UCLA. Our children, Jennifer and Matthew, are grown up. Both of them are married and we now have three grandchildren. (You can find pictures of me and my family in some of my older books.)

Although I mostly write non-fiction books for children, I occasionally write fiction. I have also tried my hand at writing for television and writing the text for interactive CD Roms. I have never written a book for adults although I have written articles for adults about writing for children.

For many years I taught in the Writers' Program at UCLA Extension. I also travel to schools both in California and elsewhere in the country to talk about my books and what it is like to be a writer. In my spare time I like to play tennis, work in my garden, travel, watch movies, and spend time with my friends and family.

To hear a short audio on how to pronounce my name from TeachingBooks.com click here .

To see a video of me teaching a half hour art lesson on how to create a cut paper zebra picture,click here. The lesson is aimed at sixth graders and was broadcast on KLCS, a PBS station in Los Angeles. It is in three 9 minute segments.

You can read more about my background in the biographical references listed below and at my blog Caroline Arnold Art and Books

Meet my family:

Representation:
Books illustrated with art by Caroline Arnold:
Books illustrated with photos by Caroline Arnold
Books illustrated with photos by Arthur Arnold
Interviews and Biographical Material About Caroline Arnold:
Books archived in the Kerlan Collection

The Kerlan Collection, the children's literature research collection at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, has manuscripts and related materials for the following books by Caroline Arnold: